I was watching 60Minutes where Putin was interviewed. I watched it because I have often wondered if Putin is a good person, a bad person, or both. I often wondered how much of our perceptions in the U.S. has been colored by our media. I was looking for signs of spirituality (or lack thereof). One thing that was impressive is that he was direct in his answers; so much so that the contrast was inescapable. It is rare for politicians in the U.S. to give direct or meaningful answers to anything. One of the more telling answers was when the host asked Putin what was the thing he admired the most about the American people. He replied, "Their creativity and ingenuity." Putin had given the answer that not only surprised me, but if he was at a level he could recognize that - then he could recognize spirituality and he admired it most in the American people.

The U.S. and its founders were heavily guided by spirit. Washington saw an angel at Valley Forge that guided him to continue and gave a warning referring to the war between the states where America's resolve would sorely tested. It is claimed that the first draft of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was given from spirit. It is also said that most of the major battles of the Civil War were either foreshadowed by many precognitive dreams, strange phenomena in the sky, and other paranormal activity. At a fork in the road a general and his men were met with a vision of George Washington on a horse pointing to the correct path to take.

Part of creativity and ingenuity has to do with being able to tap into the higher places of the brain that interface with spirit, tapping into the universal knowledge and the higher spiritual consciousness. Being raised and educated in a free society is crucial to setting the stage for maximum creativity, free will, and ingenuity. This is part of our spiritual heritage.

One thing that Putin and Obama have in common is that they don't believe in American Exceptionalism. This came out as a side comment from Putin. Initially when I heard the words "American exceptionalism," I thought these words meant that Americans were egotistical and thought they were better than others. I suspect that's what most people believe too. But the concept is actually a spiritually based grassroots movement that took hold in England with the signing of the Magna Carta. When Charlemagne signed this document, he was affirming that even the peasants had naturally God-given rights; that even kings and parliament had to recognize. Although the document was not perfect, it was a first step in a long line of steps leading to England exporting the ideas freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and allowing human dignity to prevail in the pursuit of happiness. This was totally exceptional considering the structures of the worlds governments at the time. Never before had people been allowed this level of freedom structured with the premise of non-interference from the federal government. Essentially, freedom and spirituality, ergo "American exceptionalism" was the foundation for the grand experiment of the U.S.A.

Alexis de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian. His work in the 1835, Democracy in America, held a lot of good comments on the weakness of our democracy. He made the prescient observation that our democracy is based on a social contract by the people to be bound in a certain manner. This social contract was necessary because the power was in the people rather than a monarchy or all-pervasive central government. Therefore, the democracy was only as strong as its weakest voter. The key to maintaining a strong democracy was to make sure everyone was educated in civics and that they maintained a strong moral compass as to what is right and what is not. At the time, morality was religious. Now, I think that civics is unchangingly essential while the strong moral compass has become more an exercise of free will through spirituality than the peer pressure of religion. NDErs point the way towards what that spirituality looks like. This exercise of free will allows us to be creative and ingenious in all of its God-given, loving and compassionate forms.

American Exceptionalism is a spiritual concept that although it may be a continuation of our unique American heritage, it is a concept that resonates throughout the world. Education is the key to keeping the grand experiment alive and allowing people everywhere to discover just how far they can evolve spiritually.

Jody,
I enjoyed reading your post. I’ve been fortunate enough to have lived in different parts of the world, experiencing various cultures and ideologies which have made my thinking somewhat unbiased (I’d like to believe). You’re statement, “Education is the key to keeping the grand experiment alive and allowing people everywhere to discover just how far they can evolve spiritually,” stuck out for me. I’ve found that education, in America, is objective with a task, and has an underlining purpose- sculpting societal norms. From my experience, spirituality is subjective and doesn’t seem to fit the current message that our media influences us by. The concept of “normal” is dictated by the majority. When one falls outside the thinking of the majority, they are deemed abnormal. Tattoos were once seen as a rarity, only associated with people on the outer crust of society. Now, tattoos are acceptable.

I think from the time of Washington until now, spirituality has taken on a different concept or meaning. Spirituality in American society is represented by devious mediums, shows like ‘Paranormal Investigations’, Ouija boards and FearNet. No longer is the message by the media (if ever) about exercising the soul or aiming to a higher purpose (except on late night TV). The media captures us, holds us hostage and changes our perceptions of reality, through assimilation. The show ‘Family Guy’ would have never made it past its first showing twenty years ago. But because of the gradual process of integration, old ideas and notions are no longer practical. Making fun of people’s religions and one’s views of the world is portrayed as comical and acceptable. Speak against the majority and you face persecution. Our moral compass is broken. It is fixed only when it follows the path of the mainstream, unless one goes against the grain.

I work in the behavioral health field. As a clinical therapist, if I were to speak to my peers about my NDE, I would be quickly reminded about brain chemistry under distress, and how an NDE (hallucination) only portrays the culture of the individual experiencing it. Each time I watch the movie ‘Jacobs Ladder’, I cry at the end. I’m not sure if it is because the main character’s son is guiding him into eternity, or because I’ve touched eternity and deep down inside, I simply miss it? I’m convinced it is a combination of both. I no longer discuss my experience with anyone, unless I feel it’s the proper time to do so.

When my mother-in-law was dying from cancer, towards the end, I told my wife that her family (those who have passed) would be coming to assist her mother, helping her transition into the next life. How did I know? I didn’t. I just felt it (the term ‘felt’ takes on new meaning after an NDE). It was awkward telling my wife this, but I felt she needed to hear it. The next day, my wife went to visit her mother. Her mother told her how her father appeared in her hospital room the night before, sitting in a rocking chair reading a newspaper. “I felt so calm and at ease,” she told my wife. “It was as if he was patiently waiting for me to die and bring me home.”

I believe that Putin is neither good nor bad (as a person and not his actions). He simply represents the majority in Russia, like Obama in America. Are his actions good or bad? It depends on who you ask. If one is searching for answers, there are no absolutes here. What I learned from my NDE is that we all play a part in this life. In the next life, we are what we have accomplished and then move on. The ‘move on’ part is what I didn’t see. I was like a spectator standing at the side lines waiting for the game to begin, but then the clouds rolled in and it got rained out. I felt and heard things that no words I know can properly describe.

For instance, my first nanosecond (I experienced no time) in the afterlife was more real than the real experience of me typing away on this keyboard. How does one explain or describe more real? I used to say if you see a hammer it is real. Hit yourself with the hammer and it is now more real. But that falls short of the truth. It doesn’t come close to describing what real ‘REAL’ is. It’s like trying to reach light speed. You just can’t! Hopefully my writing doesn’t seem too jumbled, or stray too far from what you were trying to convey? Trying to write about a reality that is indescribable with concrete terms, is like trying to describe to a three year old what humor is. I look forward to reading more of your posts.

Yes, we are trained to consume. It is one of the realizations for me after watching all the corporate/government corruption going on around here. I get disgusted that we are not protected from corporations whose products are designed to kill us (like food deliberately loaded with sugar, fat, salt, or montsano, or big pharma) and then when we have outlived our usefulness (peak earning years) they institute laws to covertly kill us like raiding social security, Obamacare, the VA, EPA, etc.

Not trying to be negative. You struck one of my raw nerves.

But, since this thread is about creativity and ingenuity - I think that these negatives present an opportunity for spiritual people to do something about it. Grassroots. We have a long history of freedom and overcoming staggering odds - so the real spiritual message is to go forward without fear and pay attention to what matters, family, community and lots of love!

While reading this thread, I couldnt help but think about Tues nights C2C interview with Eldon Taylor ( http://www.eldontaylor.com/ ) titled "Manipulation of Free Will".

Taylor discussed the many ways in which our culture has been trained to conform and how this agenda serves to distract the masses as well as manipulate their behavior. Taylor stated, "The journey of life is really about living into our authentic selves," he mused, suggesting that driving this enforced conformity is an agenda aimed at making people become voracious consumers thereby dissuading them from self-enrichment.

Lots was said, but a summary of Taylor's advice on how to overcome outside manipulation and regain control of pure free will, he advised people to "become self-examining in a reflective way, not in a judgmental way" by scrutinizing their own opinions and pondering what sort of information or influences may have shaped them.

Concomitantly brought to mind are M. Scott Peck's levels of spiritual development discussed in one of the Jody white papers.

Many of us sense that there seem to be many types of forces influencing personal spiritual ascension, with some types facilitating ascension, but many more hindering, blocking or diverting personal spiritual ascension (aka spiritual development/evolution).

Perhaps this is an intended part of the "earth school" paradigm so often experienced and reported by NDEers.

It may also be at least one of the reasons behind a need to experience many earth lifetimes.

It would appear that individual spiritual development is assisted thru a form of divine intervention via the NDE. Often the affected individual is instructed to "return" (ie, "go back") for the purposes of helping others.

In this way (ie, exchanges with and among experiencers, searchers and researchers), the NDERF website along with NDE forum discussions are found to be a most wonderful venue for facilitating personal spiritual awakening/development/evolution.

Yes, we are trained to consume. It is one of the realizations for me after watching all the corporate/government corruption going on around here. I get disgusted that we are not protected from corporations whose products are designed to kill us (like food deliberately loaded with sugar, fat, salt, or montsano, or big pharma) and then when we have outlived our usefulness (peak earning years) they institute laws to covertly kill us like raiding social security, Obamacare, the VA, EPA, etc.

Not trying to be negative. You struck one of my raw nerves.

It wasn't intentional to strike Your raw nerve Jody, but it was meant the way you took it, as it is also one off my pet peeves....

If you get time to watch that movie I posted take a look at the what the signs say when they look at them through the sun glasses

But, since this thread is about creativity and ingenuity - I think that these negatives present an opportunity for spiritual people to do something about it. Grassroots. We have a long history of freedom and overcoming staggering odds - so the real spiritual message is to go forward without fear and pay attention to what matters, family, community and lots of love!

Hi Garry, I want you to know I was just blowing off steam. It wasn't directed at you, but about the consumerism. I find myself doing a teeter totter back and forth between seeing all this really nasty stuff in the world and trying to maintain that spiritual equanimity while keeping the warrior in me focused on something other than anger. Quite a balancing trick.

Hi Rey, good to see you join in. I think it is important to have people speak up. Interesting you should talk about the ascension . . . I was contemplating that this morning in conjunction with false prophets. There is a popular channeler who purports to speak for a person from Sirius. At first I thought his information was credible, but when he said that a well-known person was "of the light" was ordained in what he was doing, I was incensed that anyone who had brought about so much destruction, misery, hatred, division, and pedaled outright lies could be considered "of the light."

So yesterday, this channeler talked about the ascension being soon and at hand. I got the heebie jeebies because I think this is only a half-truth again. Gaia is already in the process of ascension. It isn't happening overnight. I think human ascension is a personal journey and during certain ages, it is also a mechanism to get off the wheel of reincarnation; sort of like a get out of jail free card in monopoly.

So I ask, what would someone have to gain by equating ascension with the rapture? What's really going on here?

Jody, there is a lot to be said about using critical thinking skills. I know that isn't always considered politically correct, particularly when discussing spiritual topics.

I recently had a conversation with a friend who is also an NDEr. We've both spoken about our experiences in public, and we've both seen how there are people out there with agendas who try to use NDErs to promote those agendas. It's gotten so we are becoming reluctant to talk about our experiences because we don't want someone turning what we say into a religion. We might be NDErs, but we aren't saints (anyone who knows me can back me up on that). I think people should use critical thinking skills when listening to any story, even my story.

Recently I witnessed an NDE account being used to promote a questionable religion at a major NDE conference. I was shocked, but I suppose that I shouldn't have been surprised that such things happen.

I think it's all part of the growing pains of having NDEs going mainstream and becoming accepted. There are afterlife tourists at the NDE conferences and local events now, and that probably wasn't the case 20 years ago. It isn't just NDErs commiserating while the researchers take notes anymore.

I was responding to your comment about getting the "heebie jeebies" from what a channeler said. I think it's OK to question this kind of material. If your gut is telling you this isn't right, then you should be allowed to question what you are presented with.

I guess I went a little off topic after that, because the idea of marketing does touch a nerve as far as NDEs are concerned. I think that's why you don't get a lot of NDErs going online to discuss their experiences anymore. Either they are concerned about having their very personal and profound experience co-opted and used to promote something they don't believe in, or they are at the other end of the scale and looking for a book deal.

I understand your concern. I've seen just about everything by now and I do share your concerns. Media and public forums are always a two-edged swords. I wish it didn't happen that way.

We do continue to get many NDErs from all over the world who will share their experience with NDERF. I'd say that over 1/4 of our experiences are submitted in a foreign language. I like to think of the NDE as part of the dual nature of public vs. private too. To the extent that the experience is personal and unique to the experiencer it is a special gift from spirit. Just like people, some NDErs are comfortable sharing their experience and others are much more private about their experience.

I think the world is ready for the fourth rung of spirituality mentioned in M.Scott Peck's books - I see a sector of humans as moving from the seeker/scientist phase to the spiritual but not necessarily religious phase. At present, this is a fairly nebulous but quickly growing sector of people. Many have outgrown the boundaries of their religiousity and moved towards the expansive spirituality. The NDEs speak to me regarding the messages of love, peace, and compassion. I consider them authentic and as unbiased a source of what lies beyond the physical body. I think a lot of other people do too. I think the co-opting that is so objectionable, is a part of human nature - they even have a fancy name for it "Hegemony."

There are several reasons why NDErs should participate in forums. Not necessarily to share their experience which is so personal to them, but as teachers nonetheless. The world needs to know about love and peace. They need to know the fabric of the universe is not fear - but rather a tapestry of love. M. Scott Peck noted that rarely can a person skip rungs. So they might move from anarchy to fundamentalism, but rarely from anarchy to spiritualist. So, if the only thing a person can understand is as it relates to their religion, I think it is better to have them understand what real love is or perhaps living a life without fear of judgement so that they can advance even a little spiritually rather than not advance at all.

To give you an example - years ago, I had initially started the foreign section with Arabic because I wanted to help bring peace to the middle east. I felt strongly that if people could identify with others through common human experiences talking about love, unity and peace, then we would have a thread of commonality upon which to build. The first woman who helped as an Arabic translator was interested in translating mostly the hellish experiences. I wasn't real pleased with that, but anything was better than nothing and I did get the home page and the share NDE page translated. This was a form of co-opting according to religion. But yet, it encouraged others Arabic translators to come forward and I did get many positive experiences translated from other translators after that. 10 years later, this small seed sprouted into one of the coolest branches. We now have a Persian (Iranian) part of the website up. It has encouraged a partnership with a Psychology PhD student from Iran who was also at the IANDS conference last month. He showed me where Jeff's book, Evidence of the Afterlife was in Persian and he read some of the comments to me. They were mostly uniformly positive. The people were interested and they wanted to know more about NDE. So while the governments are doing ugly things - the people are different. There is a bridge and commonality to build relationships from.

Among the top 10 non-English speaking countries visiting the web - Germany, France, Italy, Spain, China, Russia, and India. In the top 15 are Saudi Arabia and Iran. I have been watching this trend for years since I consider it a mark of a country's spirituality or openness to spirituality.

I guess the bottom line is to thank you for sharing and speaking with me. Please feel free to share anything with me online or in an off line message. You always have my ear and my support.

Jody wrote:
I guess the bottom line is to thank you for sharing and speaking with me. Please feel free to share anything with me online or in an off line message. You always have my ear and my support.

Thanks, Jody, I do appreciate that.

I've been fortunate that I've had people such as yourself advocating on the behalf of NDErs in general, and for me specifically. Otherwise I would never have spoken openly about my experiences anywhere to anyone. It was a big deal just trying to explain it to my spouse.

A few years ago I was visiting a lab in Texas to do some work with a physicist I knew there for a couple of days, and he asked if I would mind meeting a few of his friends for lunch. "Lunch" turned out to be a speaking gig for a group of about 25 people with no prior notice. They all showed up wanting to hear about my NDEs. It was not something I talked about in public. I did talk a bit about my experiences for them, although I had to ask someone to put his video recorder away because that was just way over the line. It was a nice group of people, but that sort of situation should not have happened. I was shocked that someone would just do that to me, and even more shocked that he thought it was OK.

He's a nice guy. We are still friends. But I'm much more cautious about invitations to lunch these days.

I can tell you that I have had many mystical experiences, but I would be uncomfortable sharing most of them. It does make you feel vulnerable and yes, I shared one time on facebook. I got so much flack that I deleted the post and rarely say anything else.

It is wrong for people to ambush anyone since one of the biggest fears is public speaking. But since it was your NDE it is much more so because it is so personal. A person has to be ready to speak about it. This is a forum built for sharing in a safe place with lots of wonderful, like-minded people.

So, I'll share a personal story and how it is one of the keys for my spiritual development direction now. About a decade ago I was at a Seattle IANDS pot-luck and annual meeting. The speaker and author was Ned Daugherty. He started the meeting with a cassette taped prayer to St. Michael. All of a sudden, a wave of energy hit me and knocked me part way out of my body. At that point it was like a bunch of data was crammed into my brain. It didn't make sense like there wasn't order to it and it was communicated more in flashes and images. I knew something wondrous had happened, but I didn't know what. It took about three days for my subconscious to order the information and make it known to my conscious.

I saw the earth covered in what looked like large half-dome soap bubbles. The bubbles were like a living membrane that was a potential energy matrix. It was a membrane that caught the prayers of those on earth and those in heaven to create a new reality on earth. For years, I tried to start prayer groups but this didn't gain any traction.

I was recently reading about secret teachings of the Essenes. They described the cosmic wave of energy as passing by earth and that it looked liked a wave of bubbles. It was a matrix of love, creation, and awakening. Further, the book described that those on earth need to embrace this energy and bring it to earth. Imagine my surprise! Especially since I just started a journey of learning to use sacred geometry to heal the earth. Now it makes sense. Yes, my interpretation of the soap bubbles still holds, but as my spiritual journey unfolds - I can now understand deeper facets of universal truth. I can use sacred geometry to pull the wave so it covers the earth and through intention also help to heal Gaia. And like the Essenes, this knowledge is for those who can use it; not public like the prayer groups I tried to start. It is more like teachings and secret teachings, like the text for the masses and the dots and tittles for those who were open to learn more.

I've often thought that very different kinds of unusual experiences seem to occur in group settings. There is quite a different energy in a room with a substantial percentage of NDErs.

At the 2013 IANDS conference in Virginia, Bill Guggenheim was giving a talk about his book, "Hello From Heaven", and a woman's voice came up over the sound system saying "Hello, Hello" in the middle of his presentation. The tech guy made sure no other mikes had been accidentally left on, and couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from. But technical glitches in a Room full of NDErs is pretty common. And the synchronicity between what the voice said and the content of the talk was priceless. (Hello From Heaven is about After-Death Communications, if anyone is unfamiliar with that book.)

I went to the annual IANDS conference a month ago in San Antonio. There was so much energy in there, I was literally vibrating. I even had one NDEr who I was standing about 3 feet from step back another foot, because my energy was so strong. Being in a room full of NDErs is amazing!

I love glitches like that. I know Bill and am familiar with Hello from Heaven.

I figured you probably knew Bill and his book. I just added the info about it for anyone else who might read these posts.

My husband jokes that he would never get on an elevator full of NDErs. At the conference two years ago in VA, the elevators were constantly malfunctioning... but they were just fine the two days we stayed there after the conference was over, lol.

I've been tested in a number of labs because of some of my own unusual after-effects. There is actually a case report on me in a neuroscience journal. I remember being pretty freaked out to find out that according to the data, it wasn't just my imagination that odd things happened in my vicinity.

Jody, I have never heard about the vibrations of nder's. I've never been with a group of experiencers. Interesting.
I have, a couple of times, recognized other experiencers within a room of people. When we made eye contact there was a knowing between us.

Hi Jody, I haven't been here for some time​. But after having some synchronous moments here I searched your post's. First I'd like to thank you for having this website and also for all the help you have given to me and others in sharing our stories. I also​ want to thank you for helping me to finally decide about sharing on Facebook and other sites. I will say that I agree with you that we need to be​ careful where we share and to whom we share our "Pearl's" with. Some of us have been given some special/secret Information which should be shared when we discern it's the right time and we are prepared to. Otherwise we can expectto get "Trampled" upon doing so. Thanks Again.
RobertS